you fill my lungs with sweetness
by coffeehelps
Summary: "Since I have a picture of him cooking an omelet naked, he agreed never to show it to anyone." Five times Booth cooked naked for Brennan… and one time she did for him.


**The response I got to my first Bones fic was so nice and wonderful, I couldn't resist writing another one. I know I'm late to the game, but I'm having a lot of fun with this. I've been working on a multi-chapter fic that I'm really excited for, as well!**

**This was inspired by Brennan's comment in the season seven premiere about having a picture of Booth cooking an omelet naked. I'm a sucker for fluffy Booth and Brennan. So fluff and cheesiness abounds.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This story title comes from the song "Bloom" by The Paper Kites. I also don't own the song "Juke Box Hero" by Foreigner.**

* * *

**i.**

She woke him up in the middle of the night with a husky whisper in his ear:

"I want an omelet."

Booth blinked at Brennan. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and nothing else, and she was wide awake, even as his mind struggled to catch up with what she was asking for. He had been dead asleep for hours, but he forced his body into action anyway. She had that look on her face—the one that she got when she wasn't going to stop until she got what she wanted.

"Okay," he mumbled as he left the warmth of their (well, technically, it was his bed, but he was working on getting them to move in together. Still, he liked to think of wherever they were as "theirs" because… it just was, anyway) bed and tugged on a pair of sweatpants over his boxer shorts. Booth quickly made her a ham and cheese omelet (much to Brennan's chagrin, she was craving meat during her pregnancy—Booth smartly chose not to comment on it) and brought it back into their room.

By that time, Brennan was in the mood for something entirely different. She had stripped the t-shirt she had been wearing and was waiting for him, and… well… Booth wasn't exactly going to say no, was he?

So he stripped as well and returned her passionate kisses, guiding her to straddle his lap as they made love. When they were both satisfied, Brennan immediately fell fast asleep against his chest. Booth grinned as he wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep as well, the omelet he had made for Brennan earlier completely forgotten.

Hours later, well after the sun had risen, Booth woke up to find Brennan eyeing the cold omelet hungrily. He yawned as he stretched, the blankets falling down around his waist. When Brennan noticed that he was awake, she turned her gaze towards him with a smile. She leaned down to sweetly kiss his cheek, but her eyes almost immediately returned to the omelet.

"Come on, Bones," Booth said with another yawn. "That omelet is cold and gross. I'll make you a new one."

"Thank you, Booth," Brennan murmured as she leaned down to kiss him again, this time on the lips. She snuggled back into bed, pulling the blankets up and around her shoulders. Booth grinned at her, still not quite believing that she was here, in his bed, and pregnant with his child.

This time, Booth didn't bother with pants, or even boxers. Later, he would blame it on the fact that he was still half-asleep. He took the old omelet and threw it out before he began to make a new one, humming a Foreigner song under his breath as he searched for ingredients in the fridge.

It took almost a full two minutes for Brennan to realize that Booth was in the kitchen. _Naked_. And he was _cooking_ for her.

Oh, this was just something that she would have to document for her own posterity.

Grabbing her phone from the bedside table, Brennan slipped out of their bed. She didn't put on the t-shirt she had originally worn to bed—if her plan worked out, they wouldn't be needing any clothes, anyway.

And there Booth was, standing at the stove as he sautéed peppers and onions, now singing "Juke Box Hero" rather loudly. He was also quite naked and wholly unashamed of it… and so thoroughly distracted, he didn't notice when Brennan snapped several pictures on her phone.

It was all fairly amusing and more than just a little bit adorable, so Brennan leaned against the doorframe watching as Booth got more and more into the song. Right before the chorus, Booth started adding dance moves to his song, and it was then that Brennan could no longer hold back her laughter.

"_So he started rockin', ain't never gonna stop!_" In between scooping peppers and onions out of the pan, Booth was also using the spatula as an impromptu microphone. "_Gotta keep on rockin', someday gonna make it to the top AND BE A JUKE BOX HERO—_"

He stopped singing abruptly when he heard Brennan's laughter. Turning, with the spatula still held up to his mouth, Booth saw that Brennan was watching him… and she was just as naked as he was. His mind was still processing that particular fact when he realized that she was holding her phone.

With all of the peppers and onions out of the pan, Booth turned the stove off. He had a feeling that they were both going to get distracted from omelets once again, anyway. Brennan began to back away, towards the living room, while Booth slowly advanced on her.

"Bones," he began. He tried to look serious, but there was a smile twitching at the corner of his lips. "You didn't take a video of me singing, did you?"

"Of course I didn't," Brennan told him honestly. There was a smile of her own on her face that clearly indicated she did _something_, however. Just because she couldn't resist seeing his reaction, Brennan admitted, "But I did take a picture of you cooking naked."

Brennan knew how Booth would react, but she was surprised by the humor in his eyes, even as they widened comically. "Bones! You can't just go around taking naked pictures of me!"

"Sure I can," Brennan said with a shrug of her shoulders. "We're in a relationship now, aren't we?"

She spoke those words just as Booth caught her around the waist and sent them both tumbling to the couch. Brennan laughed, loud and free, and Booth hovered over her, catching her wrists in one of his hands and pinning her arms over her head. He grinned at her, those soulful brown eyes of his boring into hers.

Temperance Brennan said a lot of things without thinking, and it was always something that she believed. It was one of the things that Booth loved about her—he could always count on the truth with Brennan. He had gotten used to her lack of filter over the past six years, whether or not the things she said frustrated him or made him love her that much more.

It was times like these, when Brennan made a statement about their still-new relationship, that Booth found his heart expanding just a little more, filling with love for Brennan and their new life and their new family. They had waited years for this, and when Brennan told him things like that, sweetly and with conviction, Booth knew that the worst of it all was behind them.

Brennan was smiling at him too, arching her body underneath his on the couch, reminding him that they were both very, very naked. So Booth pressed his hips into hers, enjoying the way that she gasped.

"You gonna show me that picture, Bones?" he murmured as he swooped down to press his lips to her neck.

Brennan moaned, but she wasn't about to give in that easily. "Maybe," she said coyly. Then she sighed in pleasure as Booth kissed her, and the picture was quickly forgotten.

Much later, Brennan stopped distracting Booth long enough for him to make her that omelet.

* * *

**ii.**

"I think I want an ice cream sundae."

Booth burst into laughter at Brennan's words, and she narrowed her eyes at him. She had been very serious, after all. Their dinner had been hours ago, and she had worked up quite the appetite since then. Not to mention, they'd have to get up anyway; they had made quite the mess on their sheets, what with the ice cream and the chocolate syrup Booth had managed to snag.

"What's so funny?" Brennan demanded.

"You are, Bones," Booth told her between his laughs. "You'd think that you had enough ice cream earlier."

"_You_ had most of the ice cream, actually," Brennan reminded him. Still, her cheeks flushed at the thought of just how Booth had eaten that ice cream. The way that the cold ice cream felt against her naked skin was incredibly erotic, and so had the way that Booth's hot tongue felt as he followed the trail of ice cream on her, by contrast.

When it had finally been her turn, most of the ice cream had melted—it now sat, soupy and warm, in the containers on the bedside table. Hence, the chocolate syrup. Brennan had used that on Booth instead, and she could feel herself getting aroused all over again at the way he had moaned and called her name as she licked and sucked the chocolate off of him.

Of course, Brennan wasn't exactly shy when it came to bedroom activities. Though, she had to admit that she hadn't really ever experimented with food before—until Booth. She had found that she had enjoyed it quite a bit… and from the smirk on Booth's face, she knew that he was thinking the same thing.

"I'm hungry," Brennan said, finally. "And I want some ice cream." She leaned forward, sliding her hand down Booth's stomach as she nipped at his ear. "We don't have to be up early tomorrow," she reminded him, since the following day was Saturday. "I find that I'm not done having my way with you yet. We're going to need to keep our energy up…"

Well, Booth didn't need to be told twice. He pressed a hard to kiss to her lips and then leapt out of bed calling, "One ice cream sundae, coming right up!" as he ran out of their bedroom.

Brennan laughed as she climbed out of bed as well—they really did need to change the sheets. She quickly completed that task, and then pulled on her softest flannel robe before she crept down the hallway to check on their daughter.

Christine had easily been soothed after dinner, allowing Brennan and Booth to have time to themselves. Booth had used that time to show Brennan just how beautiful he thought she was. Christine hadn't made a peep since then, and as Brennan checked on the infant, she could see that the little girl was still peacefully and deeply asleep. Perhaps they would get lucky tonight, which would bode well for the plan that was forming in Brennan's mind.

While Booth had been tending to Christine, Brennan had tried on the lingerie that he had bought for her. By the time Booth had come to the bedroom with the ice cream, Brennan had been unwilling to wait and had already been naked. Now, well… she figured it was good time to put on that lingerie and show Booth just how much she liked it.

Padding lightly back down the hallway, Brennan went back into their bedroom and quickly exchanged the flannel robe for the lovely blue lingerie that Booth had picked out for her. It fit perfectly, and as she studied her reflection in the mirror, Brennan had to admit that she did feel undeniably sexy. Angela had been telling her for years that clothing had a way of boosting confidence, and Brennan had never really believed it until now.

Of course, it could have had something to do with the heat in Booth's eyes when he saw her holding the lingerie. Brennan could only imagine what his face would look like when he actually saw her in it.

That thought was enough to propel her into motion—she simply didn't want to wait in the bedroom for him. Plus, there was the fact that he was currently naked and making her an ice cream sundae, and she certainly wasn't about to miss that.

One of the most amusing things about Booth cooking naked was that there was something about the combination of the activity and the state of his undress that caused him to be thoroughly distracted. So it was quite easy for Brennan to creep down the stairs, slip into the kitchen, and hop up onto the island without being noticed.

Booth was currently spraying dollops of whipped cream over scoops of chocolate ice cream, and then he reached for the jar of caramel sauce—they had left the chocolate upstairs. Using a spoon, he drizzled some of the sauce over the whipped cream, and then finished it off with a few cherries. Brennan was unable to hold back her sigh of appreciation over just how delicious the sundae looked… or her admiration of the man who was making it.

Booth spun around with the spoon he had been using to drizzle the caramel sauce sticking out of his mouth. "Bones!" he exclaimed around the utensil. "Hey! I—" He stopped speaking abruptly when he realized just what she was wearing. His mouth dropped open and Brennan rescued the spoon from falling to the floor when it slipped between his parted lips.

"See something you like, Booth?" Brennan teased. Lord knew that she did. Really, how was she supposed to get anything done when he was making food for her naked all the time?

"Shit, Bones," Booth breathed. He planted his hands on the counter on either side of her hips, caging her in between his arms. Looking into her eyes, he smiled at her before his gaze tracked down her body, taking in the delicate lace covering her. "I just… _damn_."

She giggled and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. Before Booth could deepen the kiss too much, Brennan pulled back and jutted her chin towards the large bowl of ice cream on the counter. "Booth, the ice cream."

He blinked at her, his eyes hazy and dark with lust. "Wh—the ice cream? You want to eat _now_?"

Brennan tapped Booth's nose with the spoon she had saved earlier. "You spent all that time making it, Booth. And I did tell you that I was hungry, didn't I?"

"Sure." Booth smiled in the face of her logic. "Let me just grab some boxers, or something—"

"That won't be necessary," Brennan interrupted, latching on to Booth's shoulder to keep him from escaping. "You're not going to need them."

Booth, realizing that he was wasting time, brought the ice cream over and grabbed another spoon, and they dug in together. They ate quickly but rather distractedly, each of them aware of the other's state of undress and growing arousal. Booth knew her body very, very well, and could tell just how aroused she was becoming without even touching her. And Brennan… well, Brennan just had to look down to see how turned on Booth was.

Brennan was licking the remains of whipped cream off of her spoon when Booth couldn't take it anymore. He pushed the bowl aside, took Brennan by the hips and tugged her forward, slanting his mouth over hers. She moaned as she wrapped her arms around his neck, dropping the spoon she had been holding to the floor. Her moan turned into a gasp when Booth titled her hips forward, pressing her against his arousal.

"Booth…" She couldn't seem to control her breathing as Booth ran his hands over the lace covering her body and rocked his hips against hers. Still perched on the counter, Brennan arched underneath his hands, now eager to feel his hands on her bare skin.

Booth was just as eager to get his hands on her skin as she was to feel them. His lips moved down her neck as cupped a breast in one hand. Booth completely ignored the clasp on the back of the lingerie and instead tugged on the front, causing the delicate straps to snap. It was quite effective in releasing her breasts, and Brennan gasped.

"Booth!" Her mild annoyance over the now destroyed lingerie quickly disappeared when Booth pressed his fingers between her legs and kissed down to one breast, taking a nipple into his mouth.

"I'll buy you another one," Booth murmured against her breast.

They didn't talk much after that.

* * *

**iii.**

When Brennan woke up, she was a little surprised to find herself alone in bed.

After three months on the run, plus with Pelant finagling his way out of arrest—not to mention the case with the divorce lawyer they had just finished up—emotions had been running high. It seemed that whenever they were alone, both Brennan and Booth were desperate to make up for lost time. Nearly every morning they had woken up, Brennan had found herself wrapped in Booth's arms, with her own limbs equally tangled around him.

She liked waking up like that. Now that they had talked about their time apart, things were finally getting back to normal for them. Seeing Booth with Christine helped more than anything else. Despite the months she had spent without her father, Christine knew exactly who Booth was and eagerly went to him, just like she always had.

Earlier that night, even, Brennan had come down from her shower to find Christine fast asleep on Booth's chest. A football game had been on, but the sound was on mute and Booth had focused all his attention on their daughter. One of his large hands had been spread over her tiny back, and he seemed content to just watch her sleep.

It warmed Brennan's heart to see them together, and it reminded her of the previous weekend, when they had taken Christine to the carousel. The little girl hadn't been particularly thrilled, but she seemed to enjoy the actual motion of the carousel. It was the faces of the horses that Christine didn't seem to like, but with the presence of both her parents, there was no meltdown of epic proportions like there had been the first time Brennan had taken her.

Her family was back together again, and things were back to normal—they were better, even. It was why Brennan was surprised to find herself alone in bed. Grabbing the first thing within reach (one of Booth's many Flyers t-shirts), Brennan slipped it on and climbed out of bed.

She found Booth standing in the kitchen, staring out the expanse of windows and into their dark backyard. His chest was bare and there was a blanket wrapped low around his waist. Brennan watched him for a moment, wondering at the way his brow was furrowed. She knew that he had heard her approaching, but he hadn't turned around yet.

"Booth?" Brennan murmured as she came up beside him.

The features on his handsome face smoothed out, and he smiled at her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her against his side. "Bones, you should be sleeping."

"So should you." Her own arms looped around his waist, jostling the blanket that was barely hanging on. It appeared that Booth had also grabbed the first thing he had seen when he climbed out of bed as well.

"I couldn't sleep," Booth admitted. "I didn't want to wake you."

Their roles were reversed, for once. "Talk to me, Booth," Brennan encouraged gently. "Please."

His fingers stroked over her arm. "It's nothing, Bones," he finally said. "I'm just… I'm just glad you and Christine are back. I know things haven't been easy, and I'm just… I'm happy. That's all."

Exhaling slowly, Brennan buried her face in Booth's chest. "I'm glad we're back too, Booth. We missed you." Of course that went without saying, especially where Christine was concerned, but Brennan felt that she needed to remind Booth. "_I_ missed you. So much."

He gazed down at her, all warm brown eyes and gentle smiles. "I know." Ducking down, Booth pressed a gentle, tender kiss to her lips. Pulling back, he cleared his throat. "Do you want some tea, or something?"

Brennan returned his smile. "Tea would be nice."

Following Booth further into the kitchen, Brennan watched as he set the tea kettle on the stove, and then went to one of the cabinets and pulled out a basket containing all of her favorite teas. As he reached into another cabinet to grab a mug, the blanket he had wrapped around his waist caught and slipped free. Booth managed to catch it before it fell off completely, and he haphazardly tucked it back in.

Fascinated, Brennan watched as the movement of Booth choosing a calming chamomile for her and going back to the kettle caused the blanket to slip once again. Annoyed, Booth let it fall to the floor and simply continued to make her tea, now naked.

It was one of the biggest surprises Brennan had discovered when they had first started their relationship. In the privacy of his own home, Booth had no compunction with being naked (although, honestly, she should have guessed as much when she had broken into his apartment and confronted him in his bathroom. Booth didn't seem to have a problem being naked then, either). She found it to be endlessly amusing that Booth was doing things like cooking for her, or getting her a glass of water, or made coffee in the morning while he was bare-ass naked.

Of course, he only did it when Christine was well asleep and already tucked in to bed. Brennan knew that the older Christine got, the more careful they would both have to be with their tendency to be naked in the kitchen.

That was still a rather long way away now, so Brennan chose not to worry about it. As she watched Booth drop two teabags into the steaming hot water in her mug, Brennan was glad that some things never changed.

"What's with that smile?" Booth teased gently as he passed the mug over to her. The tea still had to steep and cool a little, so Brennan set it aside. She peered over the counter, her smile widening as she took him in.

"You do realize that you tend to do your late night or early morning food preparation while naked, don't you?"

Booth chuckled, and pointed to the mug on the counter. "That's not food. That's tea."

"Either way, Booth, I'm right."

Booth leaned down—and Brennan took the opportunity to admire his fantastic behind—and scooped up the blanket that had slipped to the floor earlier. He wrapped it around his waist again and joined Brennan on the other side of the kitchen island.

"It's not my fault," he said as he leaned in to kiss her. "You always want food when we're naked."

Brennan sighed dramatically at that, making Booth laugh once again. "I've been spending too much time around you."

* * *

**iv.**

"Booth!" Trying—very unsuccessfully—to keep her giggles quiet, Brennan raced after Booth as he darted down the stairs. She was in nothing but her underwear, but Booth was completely naked, and it didn't seem to bother either of them. They were on a mission, and that mission was nachos.

Max had taken Christine for the night, and the whole team had gone out to celebrate the solving of yet another murder, along with Booth and Brennan's debut at the ballroom dancing competition. Taking advantage of being childless for the night (Michael Vincent was with Angela's father), they had all imbibed just a little too much. Sweets, the lightweight that he was, had gone back to the Booth-Brennan house long before anyone else had left. By the time Booth and Brennan had gotten back well after midnight, they weren't exactly ready for the night to end.

They had almost gotten carried away in the cab, touching each other in increasingly teasing ways, and had managed to make it to their bedroom before too many articles of clothing had come off. Brennan had stripped Booth completely naked and had her way with him with her mouth. He pushed her on to the bed after that, and, even though she was still wearing her underwear, Booth had made her come with his fingers and the dirty words he had whispered in her ear.

While they were trying to catch their breath, Brennan had decided that she was hungry. It was probably the effect of the alcohol, but Brennan thought back to the conversation they had had months before, where Booth had accused her of wanting food whenever they were naked. It seemed that Booth was right—not that she would ever admit it to him.

Laughing at the way she was so giggly, Booth caught Brennan around the waist and pressed her against the wall at the foot of the stairs, laying a kiss on her lips that left her breathless. Brennan was seriously considering stripping her underwear off right then and there and having her way with him, but… well, she really did want those nachos. Plus, they had to move quickly. Sweets was staying with them, after all, and they already had a few near-misses.

While Booth was very private about sex outside of their home, in it, he was very free and Brennan enjoyed every second of it. They were still trying to adjust to have someone else inside their home, and even though Booth had been the one to invite Sweets to stay with them, he often complained about it.

It appeared that Brennan wasn't the only one that enjoyed Booth's naked cooking. He could say it was her who encouraged the naked cooking thing, but he seemed to like it just as much as she did.

"Booth," Brennan prompted, but it came out as a moan more than anything else. He pulled back, but not before he pressed his hips against hers. Brennan bit her lip and was unable to resist rolling her hips against his, very aware of the fact that there was nothing but the thin barrier of her underwear keeping them apart.

His kissed the side of her neck. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Nachos."

"Mmmm." Brennan followed Booth into the kitchen and started gathering the usual ingredients for nachos. "I really am quite hungry."

"Guess you worked up an appetite, huh?" Booth asked with his full charm smile as he dumped some tortilla chips onto a plate.

"Guess so," Brennan confirmed with a sultry smile of her own.

They made quick work of making the nachos, and settled for microwaving them to melt the cheese. Even though the plate was rather hot, Booth still snatched it out of the microwave and turned, running back up the stairs. Brennan snagged a cheesy chip off of the plate and followed him, unable to keep her eyes off his ass or the way the muscles in his back moved.

Now safely back in their room with the door closed, Brennan took the plate from Booth and set it aside. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, moaning at the feel of all the hard lines of his body against her softer ones.

"Do you think the nachos will keep?" Brennan murmured against his lips as she leaned in for a kiss.

"Hmmm." Booth's hands trailed up her back, and he easily undid the clasp on her bra. "Sure they will."

* * *

**v.**

Yawning, Brennan paused in stirring the cookie dough batter she had prepared the night before. The oven was still preheating, so she had a bit of time before she needed to get them on baking sheets. She glanced out the window, noting the lightning of the skies. Dawn was coming soon.

Booth had come home from jail only a few weeks ago. It had been that long since they cleared his name… and since Sweets had died. They were all still struggling, but Booth was doing the worst out of all of them. It made Brennan's heart ache, and she was growing desperate.

It seemed the only way she was able to reach him was at night, while she was in his arms. The look in his eyes, the way he touched her… there was a desperation to him that made her want to do just about anything to comfort him and be there for him.

After another such encounter with Booth, he had fallen asleep immediately. It wasn't surprising, given how exhausted he was. Brennan hadn't found sleep nearly as easily, though. After hours of tossing and turning, Brennan had finally given up and gone downstairs. There were a few things she needed to do before the day started anyway, and the early hours before dawn seemed like the best time to do it.

"Bones."

Turning around, Brennan saw her husband shuffling his way into the kitchen, blearily rubbing his eyes. Given his half-awake state, it seemed that he completely forgotten to put on any clothing. Despite her rather bleak mood, Brennan found a smile forming on her lips. Their life might be in all sorts of turmoil right now, but they had each other, their daughter… and the fact that Booth somehow ended up naked in their kitchen

"What are you doing up?" he asked around a yawn.

Brennan sprayed the baking sheets with nonstick spray and stirred the dough once again. "Christine has a cookie swap at her pre-k tomorrow. I made the batter last night, and I thought I'd get them into the oven."

"At… five thirty in the morning?" Booth crossed the kitchen and stood behind Brennan, wrapping his arms around her waist. He propped his chin on shoulder, and then his hand snuck forward, dipping into the batter.

Brennan didn't even chastise him for sneaking some of the dough. This was the most normal that Booth had acted since he had been released, and Brennan certainly wasn't going to question it. She leaned back in to him, relishing the warm feel of his body through the thin material of her t-shirt—one of Booth's.

"I don't remember having a cookie swap when I was in pre-k," Booth grumbled. He stuck the dough into his mouth, letting out a low groan at the taste. "This is great, Bones."

"It's supposed to be a recipe from the kids' families," Brennan explained.

Booth snorted. "I didn't know anyone in your family had a chocolate chip cookie recipe, Bones."

She fiddled with the wooden spoon in the batter. "It's not a recipe from my family, Booth. I got it from Hank. Your grandmother used to make these cookies."

"Oh." Both of his hands were around her waist once again, tightening to hold her against him. There was a slight caramel flavor in the dough, and Booth knew that there would be an addition of sea salt later, which really made the cookies fantastic. "Can I help?"

"Of course." With a smile, Brennan handed Booth a scoop and gestured to one of the baking sheets. The oven beeped behind them, indicating that it was up to the necessary temperature.

They worked quietly and comfortably, as they always did. Booth was scooping one of the final cookies on to the sheet when he finally asked, "Why couldn't you sleep, Bones?"

"I just… I…" Brennan sighed and set aside her scoop and stared down at her perfectly spaced cookies on the baking sheet. "I'm worried about you."

Booth glanced at her, down at the counter, and then back at her. "I know," he finally admitted. "I know, and… I'm sorry."

"Booth." Turning, she slid her arms around his waist and held him tightly, burying her face against his bare chest. "You don't have to be sorry. You've been through so much, and you don't have to—"

"Bones." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "I love you, you know that?"

"I know. I love you, too."

He sighed and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm trying, Bones. I swear I am."

"Please, Booth." She rested her hands on his chest, then, taking comfort in the heartbeat she could feel thudding under her fingertips. "I know you are. I just… I want to be there for you. I want to help you."

He pulled back slightly, and she saw a true, full Booth smile on his lips. She had seen it a few times since he had come home, but not nearly as often as she would have liked. Seeing it now, in the early hours of dawn, in their kitchen… it gave Brennan hope. "You are helping me, Bones," he murmured. He kissed her again and smoothed a hand down her back. "You're in our kitchen, in our new home, baking cookies for our daughter from a recipe my grandmother had."

Brennan's brow furrowed. "I'm happy that you're happy, but I must admit that I don't understand. You just listed things that are actually happening right now."

Booth chuckled at that. "Don't worry about it, Bones. All you need to know is that this—" he gestured around the kitchen, the cookies, and her, standing there wearing nothing but his t-shirt, "—is helping."

"Okay," Brennan whispered. She stretched up on to her tiptoes and kissed Booth again. He pulled back after that, took the baking sheets, and slid both into the oven. He went into the living room and grabbed the throw blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around his waist before he joined Brennan in the kitchen once again.

Together, they waited for the cookies to finish baking as they watched the sun rise.

* * *

**vi.**

Brennan wasn't sure if this idea was foolish or brilliant.

Things were finally evening out, and they were finding their place in this new normal. Sweets was gone and it was still heartbreaking, but the addition of Aubrey to their team somehow made it hurt a little less. They would never forget Sweets, of course, but there was just something about Aubrey that made it easy to accept him into the fold.

They still didn't talk too much about his time in jail, or how he felt being back at work now that he was cleared. The whole team still had difficulty talking about Sweets, so it was no surprise that Booth refused to discuss it. And there were still nights when Booth reached for her desperately, holding on to her tightly as he buried himself within her welcoming body. Brennan held him in return on those nights, keeping him close as he shuddered afterwards.

They were making it work as best as they could, which led Brennan to her current plan for that night. She was making Italian food, there was a bottle of Brunello that had been decanted, and she had on an ensemble that she was now really questioning.

What had started as Brennan wanting a nice, quiet night with a special dinner for Booth turned into quite the plan for seduction. Hodgins and Angela had Christine for the night, allowing Booth and Brennan to have hours to themselves, uninterrupted. Brennan had threatened just about everyone in the lab—and even a few people at the Hoover—by telling them that unspeakable things would happen if anyone tried to call either Booth or Brennan that night.

At first, Brennan was just going to wear lingerie to cook for Booth. She knew just how much he liked it when she wore something special. It was hard for her to decide, though, given that Booth got just as excited when she was wearing one of his shirts, or regular underwear, or… anything, really. He got just as excited when she was naked, as well.

Then she got inspired, which led her to her current idea: how many times had Booth cooked for her naked? Now seemed like a perfect time to return the favor. Though she wondered how Booth had managed to cook for her naked all these years without splashing anything on him. Thus, the apron she was wearing. The pink, frilly thing had been a gift from Angela, as a sort of joke/new housewarming present.

Before Brennan could back for the lingerie, the front door opened, and she heard Booth call her name. She froze, wooden spoon in hand, with her back to the stove as Booth shed his suit jacket and dropped his keys at the table by the door. He was undoing his tie as he came into the kitchen, and then his eyes landed on his wife, lighting up.

"What'cha doin, Bones?" he asked as he tucked his hands into his pockets. A grin was forming as on his face, as if he could already tell that she had been trying to plan something for the night.

"Um, well, I…" Brennan shrugged her shoulders, unwilling to turn around. She generally wasn't shy about her body, but there was something this that was making her a little self conscious. "I'm making dinner. For you."

"I got that." Booth crossed to the island and planted his hands on it, leaning over to kiss her. "It smells great, Bones."

"Thanks." Brennan ignored Booth's attempt to kiss her by pretending that she hadn't seen it. Although at this point, it was useless, given that there was really no way to hide her state of undress. She shifted to the side slightly, dipping the wooden spoon back into the pot containing the sauce and stirring it.

One of Booth's eyebrows lifted. "Bones?"

"Booth?"

"Are you… naked?"

Ah. A question she could answer. "I'm not naked, actually. I'm wearing an apron."

Booth was grinning fully now, in that annoyingly attractive way he had. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure you're naked underneath that apron."

"And you're naked underneath those clothes," Brennan countered. As soon as she said the words, she knew it was a poor comeback. Her suspicions were confirmed when Booth started laughing outright, shaking his head as he came around the counter. He took the wooden spoon from her and turned the stove off. Brennan would have protested, but she was struck by the dark, predatory look in his eyes.

"You're naked. And you're cooking for me."

Brennan's voice was suddenly very breathy, and there was nothing she could do about it. "Well… you've done the same for me."

"True. I have." His hands snaked around her waist, tracing over the bare skin of her back before they drifted lower, palming her backside. "Damn, Bones. This is..."

"Ridiculous?" Brennan's cheeks flushed. "Yes, I know. I—"

"…so hot."

"What?" Brennan blinked.

"_So_ hot," Booth repeated. Years later, and she could still surprise him. One hand drifted back up, and then he was pulling on the knots keeping the apron tied around Brennan. "Bones, you're beautiful."

Brennan sighed happily as Booth pulled the apron from her entirely, leaving her bare to his gaze. She pressed herself against him, and she had to admit that this role-reversal was surprisingly thrilling.

"Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones?"

"You're wearing too many clothes."

Brennan made quick work of Booth's clothes, even though he seemed intent on distracting her with his lips and his hands. It became apparent that they wouldn't be making it out of the kitchen. As they sank to the floor, wrapped around each other, Brennan thought back to that picture she had taken of Booth cooking her that omelet, so many years ago. And she smiled.

* * *

**Okay, so this totally got away from me. It was still fun to write, though, and I just kind of let the muse take me where it wanted to go. I thought about ending this during or after season 12, but we already know that Booth and Brennan get their happy ending, so I thought it would be fun to throw it back to the Brunello night. Thanks for reading! :)**


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